Designing Highly Conductive Functional Groups Improving Guest-Host Interactions in Li/S Batteries
Journal article, 2020

Li-sulfur batteries are of great interest due to their potential to surpass the energy densities of other battery types, but the low electronic conductivity of both sulfur and its discharge products requires the use of a conductive host material. The most common is the use of different porous carbons which normally are hydrophobic and hardly retain the polar discharge products of the Li/S reaction, such as Li2S and lithium polysulfides (LiPs), at the working electrode. Functionalized hosts have been proposed as a strategy to improve LiPs interactions, including the use of heteroatom doping, organic frameworks, metals, metal oxides, sulfide particles, and conductive polymers. Despite demonstrating an improved cycle life, the functionalized structures often have an intrinsic limitation related to a low electronic conductivity resulting in slow kinetics and poor rate capability of Li/S cells. Herein, recent research trends aimed at designing sulfur electrodes with highly conductive functional groups on nanostructured hosts surface are reviewed. The main concepts, key developments, and parameters for building 3D hosts architectures that enable fast charge rates and long cycle life at high sulfur loadings are discussed.

designing 3D hosts with highly conductive functional groups

improving sulfur

increasing rate capability of Li

S batteries

Li

S batteries

host interactions

Author

Marco Agostini

Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics

Aleksandar Matic

Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics

Small

1613-6810 (ISSN) 1613-6829 (eISSN)

Vol. 16 2 1905585

Subject Categories

Inorganic Chemistry

Materials Chemistry

Other Physics Topics

DOI

10.1002/smll.201905585

PubMed

31821712

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Latest update

4/6/2022 1